Videographer Mick Kalber shares his prespective on the shooting of VolcanoScapes V.

In 1994 I begin a labor of love. The project is the documentation of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the crown jewel of the amazing Big Island of Hawaii. Approaching the rangers at the park, I ask them what they would like to see in such a show… they give me a list as long as my arm. It is not without the help of literally hundreds of people that we are able to come up with what critics have called “the finest documentary ever produced on Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.”

Park Ranger Bobby Camara shares with us delicate petroglyphs in a protected lava tube; Al Lieberman of the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center allows us to capture images of baby native birds his team is breeding and nursing for introduction into the wild; Park Ranger Russ Bickler takes us on a hike through a wild cave… a lava tube virtually untouched by humans; USGS scientists take us to sample two-thousand degree hot liquid rock from the lava tubes of Kilauea as it makes its way to the sea; and Halau O Kekuhi dances and chants the meles of hula at Halemaumau, the volcano’s spiritual center.

These are just a few of the many, many wonderful people that help to create this amazing program. We are blessed to capture images of rare native birds and plants in the pristine tropical rain forest, hike among the giant tree ferns, fly past fiery lava fountains and dive to the ocean’s floor to witness amazing formations of pillow lava.

And then there is the history… one of my favorite parts. I spend countless hours at the Hawaii State Archives, Bishop and Lyman House Museums, HVNP Archives and USGS Library… pouring through albums, pictures, film clips, catalogues, diaries and notebooks. I collect anything and everything of interest that I can find on HVNP throughout recorded history, in attempt to do the most comprehensive documentary ever.

The result is a 70-minute program that is completed in 1996… over two years from start to finish! “VolcanoScapes V” is unequivocally the most comprehensive historical program ever assembled on Hawaii Volcanoes National Park!

As I said, I don’t do this alone… I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the many people from the National Park Service, the US Geological Survey, Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory, National Biological Service, as well as many, many others who have made all our programs a reality. Are hats are off to them, for without their support, this project would not have been possible. Mahalo Nui Loa!